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Risk assessment of medical equipment is an integral part of the Joint Commission’s Environment of Care Management Plans. Such assessments consider the potential physical risks associated with the equipment’s use, function, and incident history. The assessment cannot be anecdotal; it must be based on data. Computerized medical maintenance systems have made available a wealth of data that can be used to quantify risk assessment in medical equipment.

This monograph combines three updated monographs by John Collins. It is divided into three parts, which together present a frame¬work for an efficient risk assessment plan. Part 1 discusses maintenance risk assessment of medical equipment, comparing the use of computerized risk management databases with qualitative scoring of risk assessment parameters. Part 2, on physical risk assessment of medical equipment, looks at different approaches to assigning risk scores to devices and analyzing that data. Part 3 is an analysis of parts replacement in a specific medical management program.